One in five pensioners in Scotland's hospitals are starving, says report

By Tara Womersley

12:00AM GMT 12 Feb 2001

A GOVERNMENT report has revealed that one in five pensioners in Scotland's hospitals and nursing homes are badly undernourished.

The study revealed that pensioners in care were more likely to suffer from starvation than those living at home. Meals were often removed uneaten because patients or residents were unable to feed themselves. Only 10 per cent of patients were checked to see if their dietary needs were being met.

The portions and the quality of food were also found to be below recommended levels, and one in three staff members had received no training in nutritional education. Bill O'Neill, Scottish Secretary of the British Medical Association, said the findings indicated that ward sisters should have greater powers to ensure patients were not neglected.

He said: "This seems to be a comprehensive study and we need to look into the details of it. This situation needs to be addressed urgently. The problem, which is one that we recognise and have been lobbying about for some time, is that wards are not adequately staffed and resourced.

"We are very much in favour of a return to the traditional role of sister or charge nurse who have responsibility for the management of the ward. This autonomy would help address the problem of domestic staff just taking meals out and then clearing the trays away."

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The report, obtained by a newspaper, claims that portions and quality of food were often below recommended standards. Linda Dunion, assistant director of Age Concern Scotland, said that she was not surprised by the findings but shocked at the widespread scale of how many elderly people were affected.

She said: "I understand that this is a three-year extensive study. We regularly receive telephone calls from people who are worried that their a relative is starving. We are anecdotally aware of the situation."

The study was carried out by Dr Drew Walker, a director of public health at Tayside Health Board, and his wife, Jacqueline, a nutritionist. It claims that poor nutrition is causing respiratory illness and reduced immunity, and is hampering the recovery of patients. The authors studied private and NHS wards and nursing homes, reporting that conditions had improved since 1997 when 29 per cent of elderly people were undernourished compared to 21 per cent three years later.

The report makes more than 50 recommendations to the Scottish Executive, including ensuring that staffing levels are adequate at meal times and that residents are assessed for the risk of malnutrition and that a wider variety of food is made available.

A Scottish Executive spokesman said: "The results of the audit are of great concern and when the draft report was received, ministers called for urgent action to put in place a range of measures to support staff caring for patients at risk of being poorly nourished. "The Scottish Health Plan recognises that high quality, nutritious food is both desirable and necessary for those in hospital or in care. "The Plan commits the NHS to implement the recommendations of this audit."